Lee Lewis, I'm not sure if its always the case but it would make logical sense for females to be bigger as they would gain more of an advantage from it. Males tend to move around a lot more especially during the breeding season. Also the success rate of the clutch of eggs that a brooding mother incubates is dependent on her ability to maintain the temperature between a very narrow range. Larger pythons are able to maintain a much more constant body temperature because they are able to collect more heat when basking because of their larger body size. So females are often very large and bulky. Interestingly the pythons also have been noted to change colour and females who are expecting to brood will usually be very much darker than males and non-brooding females and this also helps them with absorbing heat.

The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

I agree Nico - certainly a beautiful creature. I haven't seen one in a Sanpark - but we watched one take an impala - It was an incredible experience to see the power and lightening speed of these creatures.

RP, that python of yours was on a game farm up in Limpopo somewhere some years back. When they opened it up there was a fully grown impala ewe inside, which is why it couldn't get through beneath the fence.

MariusHunter, angler, nature lover, conservationist.

I believe that for man to survive, we must work with nature rather than against her. We need the land; the land doesn't need us. Too many people have lost sight of this fact. - Bruce Truter

Saw a python doing the same thing near Red Rocks last year, and it moved off once it relaxed and was sure we meant no harm to it.

Your snake looks healthy.It does not look like it is moulting.It does not look like it has fed on anything serious -- no bulge, just a normal fatter body than head.I don't think it is normal for a snake that size to bask in the sun out in the open where a big eagle could easily grab it.I suspect it was crossing the road (straight body, relaxed, moving slowly), when it sensed your approach, and FROZE to conceal its presence.Once it had decided that flight was the only option, it cleared off at lighting speed (NO injury...)

Whatever the real reason, a VERY special sighting. I have had ONE in 55 years of game viewing!

First there was only a snake in the grass. And then it was under there engine cap…

“The snake came sailing out of the grass, and then headed directly towards us,” Marlene Swart and Leon Swanepoel from Brits commented, after a giant python ended up under the engine cap of their silver Renault Clio on their most recent visit to the Kruger National Park.

“We belong to the Facebook group Kruger National Park Sightings and got a message about lions close to where we were. On our way there we came across a pile-up of cars and thought they were perhaps having a look at the lions.”

The two of them were enlightened with the fact of the python being in the grass.

“Suddenly the python emerged from the grass and came right towards us. I signalled the driver behind us to reverse but he did not understand what I was trying to tell him,” Swart said.

The snake was by then already under their vehicle. Swart and Swanepoel waited for the snake to crawl out from under the car but no such luck.

“The people around us started to murmur because the snake had just disappeared.”

The driver of a wild exploring vehicle told the two of them he thinks the snake had crawled into the engine cap.

They immediately drove to the closest lookout point and stopped at Mathekenyane, about 10km from Skukuza. All the other tourists followed out of curiosity.

“I was petrified, especially when Leon mentioned the snake could have crawled into a space where it could be impossible to get him out from.”

Leon and I absolutely love Kruger and we go there as often as we possibly can.

This was a once in a lifetime experience and at that time we never imagined the response we would get.

I was in total shock and terrified while we drove the 5 kilometers to Grano Hill and I was worried about damage to the car, because we didn't know exactly where the snake was.

Leon is a real 'Ace Ventura' and he was very exited about the episode.

I am just sorry I didn't take more pictures, but I was almost numb with fear. I have a picture of Leon helping the snake out by the tail, but I cut off his head…….lol.

That evening, while having a stiff drink, we had a good laugh at some of the reactions of the bystanders when the snake got out. It was hilarious to see the people scatter in all directions. Again, I never even thought of taking pictures.

It's definitely a python, but pythons vary quite a bit in colour. If the pattern on a snake like this is not very clear, then it may indicate that the snake is getting ready to shed its skin. This one looks like quite a big one, and maybe around 3 metres in length?

"If you can only visit two continents in your lifetime, visit Africa.... TWICE" - R.Elliot